Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

A human rights adjudicator has ruled that the Manitoba government discriminated against a disabled Indigenous boy by not providing adequate health care. The province has been ordered to pay the boy and his mother $42,500. The case centres on Alfred (Dewey) Pruden, who was 16 years old when his human rights complaint was heard last year.

This past weekend marked the fourth anniversary of the defeat of the 2016 tPSA (tentative Physician Services Agreement) at the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). It marked the culmination of the efforts to mobilize almost two-thirds of the membership to vote against the deal, despite heavy pressure from the then board to approve it. In the aftermath of that agreement, there have been some significant and rather seismic changes at the OMA, and it’s worthwhile looking back to see what’s different, and what still needs to be done.

The Winnipeg Free-Press and the CBC have reported that the CEO of St. Boniface Hospital is not self-isolating after travel in apparent violation of Manitoba's current public health orders. A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority told CBC that Martine Bouchard returned to work at the hospital in Winnipeg on Aug. 10 from her home in Quebec where she'd gone in April and worked remotely.

Yet again, the federal government looks like it is about to transfer tens of billions of dollars to the provinces with essentially no strings attached. We’ve seen this before. The 2004 First Ministers’ Health Accord transferred $40 billion to the provinces with homecare as one of the priorities. In the 2017 Health Accord, $11 billion was transferred with money earmarked for homecare and for mental health and addictions. We have no evidence of any significant progress in the provision of home care.

Under pressure over his pandemic back-to-school plan, Premier Doug Ford ratcheted up his attacks on teachers' union leaders Tuesday, as critics said his government is trying to shift blame over the province's controversial restart strategy. During his daily COVID-19 media briefing Ford criticized the province's teachers' unions who have been critical of his plan to reopen schools, alleging it violates the province's own health and safety laws.

The potential charge is a regulatory matter and not a criminal charge, according to the doctor's lawyer

Originally set to expire in Sept. 2020, the new rules have been extended to Sept. 2021